Device for selective handling of metal bars or billets



June 10, 1930. ion 1,762,291

. DEVICE FdR SELECTIVE HANDLING OF METAL BARS on, BILLETS Filed Sept. 27, 1928 s Sheets-Sheet 1 June 10, 1930. i FORS 1,762,291

DEVICE FOR SELECTIVEJHANDLING 0F METAL BARS 0R BILLETS Filed Sept. 27, 1928 a Sheets-Sheet 2 [parenfor By @I June 1.0, 1930. E, H FORS 1,762,291

DEVICE FOR SELECTIVE HANDLING OF METAL BARS QR BILLETS Filed Sept. 27. 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 [nlrenfor Eric H. F0 1* s.

Af/orney Patented June. 10, 1930 STATES PATENTIOFFICE ERIC H. FORS, OF SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR TO MORGAN CONSTRUCTION COM- PANY, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS DEVICE FOR SELECTIVE DLJING OF METAL BARS OR BILLIE-TS Application filed september 27, 1928. Serial No. 308,816.

The present invention relates, in general, to thehandling of metal bars or billets, as

accumulated on the cooling bed or'other receiving apparatus like.

In the handling and disposal of stock so accumulated, some of the pieces are inevitably subject to discard; others may be of such quality or length as to require further shearings or other-operations thereon; while still others, upon their discharge from the cooling bed, may be selected, according to quality or length, for immediate storage ordisposal, without further operations thereon.

of a rolling mill, or the "According to the invention, an apparatus ofspecial construction is provided at the delivery end of the cooling bed to secure the broadside discharge of the pieces in such multiples as the conditions, in the case of each discharging operation, may require. Said apparatus, as hereinafter set forth, is readily adjustable at the will of the operator, to adapt it, selectively, to the picking-off of one, two, or any'desired number of pieces at a time, as determined by the particular conditions of quality, length, arrangement, and the like, that apply to those pieces that are ready for discharge. The wide range of selectivitythat thus characterizes each discharging'operation is one of the princlpal features of the invention; other features,

' objects and advantages are set forth in detail hereinafter, reference being had to theac- .companying drawings, in whichl Fig. l is adiagrammatic plan view of apparatus embodying-the invention, as applied to a pair of adjacent cooling beds.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary large scale plan view of the discharge end of'one of said cool ing beds. i v

Fig. 3 is a large scale transverse sectional view, substantially on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

' Fig. 4-is a fragmentary detail view, illustrating a locking means to hold the discharge apparatus inadjusted position.

- Fig. 5. 'llustrates, diagrammatically, the

. use of a motor .as applied to the adjustment of said" discharge apparatus.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view, lengthwise of one of the cooling beds, and illustrating the actuating mechanism for the loading and unloading of the billets.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the different figures.

As illustrated conventionally in Fig. 1, the billets, cut into appropriate lengths by a flying shear, not shown,

longitudinally, on a series of conveyor rollers, 1, 1, that deliver the same to a roller table that the billets, as intercepted by a stop 6,

are run out successively,

will accumulate side by side on the rollers 5, 5, with the first-received billet in sidewise contact with a straight edge pusher 7, the latter being operable, when desired, to push the accumulation of billets onto the cooling bed 3. The roller table 2 also comprises aseries of alined conveyor rollers 8, 8, which become operative to forward an accumulation of billets when the stop 6 is moved into an inoperative position, and associated with these conveyor rollers 8, 8 is a stop 9 and a straight edge pusher 10, the latter being operable, when desired, to procure the broadside transfer to the cooling bed 4 of the accumulation of billets forwarded on said rollers 8, 8.

Each of the cooling beds 3 and 4 is of conventional construction, consisting,. as shown, of a plurality of spaced parallel skids 11, 11, whose upper surfaces support the V billets in their broadside movements across said beds. The operation of each of the straight edge pushers 7 and 10, in pushing an accumulation of billets onto and across said cooling beds is attained in the usual manner by. rope drives, indicated diagrammatically at 12, 12 in Fig. 1. As best shown in Fig. 6, each rope 12, secured to the "rear edge of the pusher, passes around a sheave 13 and then takes a number of turns or can volutions around a driving. drum 14, being thereafter passed around a sheave 15 and returned and secured to the front edge of said pusher. Each set of drums 14, 14 is driven,

through suitable-gearing, from a reversible motor 16, to advance or retract,at the will of the operator, the associated pusher 7 or 10. The above described apparatus, as employed for the movement of the billets onto and across the cooling bed,'is well-known in the'art, and forms no part of the present invention.

The invention is concerned with the unloading of the stock from each cooling bed in a manner and by a means that permits of the exercise of the utmost selectivity and regulation on the part of theoperator; as here shown, by way of example,the delivery is onto a serles of conveyor rollers 17, 17, the

latter, as best shown in Figs. 1 and 2, being disposed substantially parallel to the roller table 2, and being operable in any well-known manner for the longitudinal run-oft of a piece or group of pieces in either direction. Heretofore, no provision has been made for either a selective or a regulated discharge of the pieces of stock from the delivery end of the cooling bed to such a run-off or to such other receiving, storingor handling apparatus as is ordinarily located at the delivery end of a cooling bed. According to this invention, selectivity and regulation of the discharge are obtainedin the following manner As shown in F igs.'2 and 3, a beam-18, ex-

, tending lengthwise of the series of run-off rollers 17 17, is movable broadside, with referenceto the discharge end of the associated cooling bed 3 or 4, in much the same manner as the pushers 7 and 10 at the other ends of said beds. To this end, said beam 18 provides near its ends the two inward projections 19, 19 that extend between the rollers 17, 17 and between adjacent skids 11, 11 of the cooling bed. Attached to the inner ends of these proections 19, 19 are the ropes 20, 20, each of which, as shown in Fig. 6, :passes around a sheave 21 beneath the cooling bed and then takes a number of turns or convolutions around a driving drum 22, being thereafter passed around a sheave 23 and returned and secured to the outer edge of the'beam 18. Each set of drums 22, 22 is driven, through sultable gearing, from a reversi le motor 24 to move the beam 18, at the will of the operator, inwardly or outwardly with respect to the dlscharge end of the associated cooling bed. Each of the end projections 19, 19 and each of a plurality of similar intermediate projections 25, 25 of beam 18 carries near its outer endapawl 26, pivoted at 27 and having a Weighted end 28, the efiect of the latter,

normally, being to project the billet-engaging tip 29 of the pawl above the supporting surfaces of the skids 11, 11 and rollers 17, 17. The several pawls 26, 26 are in alinement,

' each being at the same predetermined distance from the inner edge 30 of .beam'18. Said edge 30 serves as the outer limit of adjustment for a movable straight edge member 31 any desired position of adjustment between the pawl tips 29, 29 and the inner edge 30 of beam 18, and said member 31 can be locked in such desired position of adjustment by the device shown in Fig. 4, the same consisting of a toothed arm 35, pivoted at 36 to the beam 18 and adapted to be swung into engagement with the adjacent rack bar 32.

In the discharge from either cooling bed of the billets accumulated thereon,'-it will be understood that the member 31 is first adjusted to space it from thepawl tips 29,29 by the desired distance, as determined by thenumber of billets (one, two or more) that are to be removed simultaneously from L the cooling bed. This adjustment having been made, the inward movement of beam 18 by the rope drives 20, 20' is initiated, and on this inward movement, the pawl tips 29, 29 will be depressed by their contact with the'billets accumulated on the cooling bed, said pawl tips sliding inefiectively across the under surfaces of the billets first encountered until the member 31 brings up against the outer edge of the billet that is farthest advanced on the cooling bed. Such engagement serves, of course, to straighten and to simultaneously correct the alinement of the. piece or pieces intended to be removed, as well as to limit the inward movement of the pawls 26, 26 to those particular pieces; thereupon, with the reversal of the rope drives 20, 20, the pawl tips 29, 29 thrust themselves upwardly to part the billets, as shown in Fig. 3, at the first edge that they encounter, and thereby procure the separation and outward travel of the desired number of billets. The billet or billets thus separated. are carried broadside outwardly between the pawl tips 29, 29 and the member If the length of the billets undergoing such successive discharges from the cooling bed is such as to requlre thelr re-shearing, then, ob-

viously member 31 is adjusted so that thedischarging action, as described above, will pick off each time the number of billets that can be sheared in multiple at one operation. '1

The adjustment of said member 31 may be effected manually, through a hand wheel 37 on.

shaft 34, or if desired, a'motor 38, Fig. 5, carried by the beam 18 and having a worm gear connection 39 with the shaft 34, may be contion of the stock on the cooling bed. For example, if a considerable number of the accu mulated billets appear with imperfections, the span between the pawl tips 29, 29 and the member 31 can be quickly increased, so as to obtain the discharge of all these billets in bulk, for their prompt diversion as discards. Os, if at any time the separation and discharge of a single billet appears advantageous, the span between the pawl tips 29, 29 and the member 31 can be correspondingly decreased.

It is further to be noted that the discharge mechanism, as above described, adapts itself,

without need for any adjustment or attention on the part of the operator, to the selective withdrawal of any and all lengths of billets; as indicated at the right-hand side of Fig. 1, short billets can be handled quite as expeditiously as longer billets, due to the fact that all the pawls 26, 26am operated in unison 30 from one single pair of rope drives.

In connection with the use-of the motor 38 for the adjustments, as above described, of the straight-edge member 31 it is to be noted that'the contacts 40, 40 which supply the current for the operation of said motor, by remote control from the operators pulpit, are in a fixed position, so that said motor, which is carried on the beam 18, is operable only when said beam is in its extreme outward position. As soon as the desired adjustment, by

- operation of said motor has been made, and

the beam 18 has been started inwardly to pick off the desired number of billets, the motor loses contact with its source of electrical current supply,and such contact is not resumed until the then-occurring discharge 0 eration has been completed. It will be un- "derstood, that in the use of a motor to secure the adjustment, the locking,dewice 35 is not needed, since the worm and gear connection 39 issuflicient 'to effectrthe locking in any position to which the member'31 is adjusted.

I claim, I

1. The combination with a cooling bed for the support of a plurality of billets, of .a billet-discharge mechanism, comprising a member movable broadside on said bed between said billets and the delivery end of said bed and adapted to contact sidewise with the farthest-advanced billet on said bed,

' billet-engaging pawls spaced from said member and adapted to move in unison therewith,

and means for adjusting the spacing between said pawls and said member to vary the nummember, and means for adjusting the spacing between said pawls and said billet-engaging edge.

3. The combination with a cooling bed or other storage means for the support of an accumulation of billets, of a member extending crosswise of said bed and adapted for broadside movement inwardly thereon int-o sidewise contact with the farthest-advanced billet on said bed, aplurality of alined pawls spaced inwardly of said member and moving in unison therewith, movement of said member, being depressed in their passage beneath said billets, and on the outward movement of said member projecting themselves upwardly between a pair of adjacent billets to pick off, from said accumulation, one or more billets, as determined by the spacing between said pawls and said member.

side movement inwardly thereon into side wise contact with the farthest-advanced billet on saidbed, a plurality of alined pawls spaced inwardly of said member and moving in unison therewith, said pawls, on the inward movement of said member, being clepressed in their passage beneath said billets,

said pawls, on the inward and on the outward movement of said member projecting; themselves upwardly between a pair of adj acent billets to pick off, from said accumulation, one or more billets, as determined by the spacing between said pawls and said member, and means for varying, at the will of an operator, the spacing between said pawls and said member.

5'. The combination with a cooling bed or other storage means for the support of an accumulation of billets, of a member extending crosswise of said bed? and adapted for broadside movement inwardly thereon into sidewise contact with the farthest-advanced billet on said bed, aplurality of alined pawls spaced inwardly of said member and movingin unison therewith, said pawls, on the inward movement of said member, being depressed in their passage beneath said billets, and, on

the outward. movement ofsaid member pro- 6. Mechanism for procuring successive discharges of billets from an accumulation of billets on a cooling bed, comprising a member movable inwardly on said bed into sidewise ontact with the farthest-advanced billet, and

a plurality of alined pawls disposed inwardly of said member and moving in unison therewith, said pawls, on' the outward movement of said member, adapted to p1ck OK as many billets as are contained in the space between said pawls and said member, and means for adjusting the width of said space.

7. Mechanism for procuring successive discharges of billets from an accumulation'of billets on a cooling bed, comprising a carriage mounted for reciprocation at the delivery end of said bed, a series of alined billet-engaging pawls on'said carriage, and a straight edge member on said carriage in spaced relation to aid alined pawls, and adapted, on the inward movement of said carriage, for sidewise engagement with the farthest-advanced billet, thereby to limit the number of billets picked off by said pawls on the outward movement at said carriage.

8. Mechanism for procuring successive discharges of billets from an accumulation of billets on a cooling bed, comprising a carriage mounted for reciprocation at the delivery end of said bed, a series of alined billet-engaging pawls on said carriage, and a straight edge member 'on said carriage in spaced relation to said alined pawls, and adapted, on the inward movement of said carriage for sidewise en zagement with the farthest-advanced billet, thereby to limit the number of billets picked off by said pawls on the outward movement of said carriage, and means for adjusting the space between said pawls and said straight.

- engaging pawls adapted to reciprocate beedge member.

. 9. Mechanism for procuring successive discharges of billets from an accumulation of billets on a cooling bed, comprising a carriage mounted for reciprocation at the delivery end of said bed, a series of alined blllet-engaging pawls on said carriage, and a straight edge member on said carriage in spaced relation to said alined pawls, and adapted, on the inward movement of said carriage, for sidewise engagement with the farthest-advanced billet, thereby to limit the number of billets pickedoii by said pawls on the outward movementoi said carriage, and adjustable means for positioning said straight edge member at varying distances from said pawls, thereby to permit the selection, by the operator, of the number of billets picked oii by said pawls on the outward movement of said carriage.

10. Mechanism for procuring successive discharges of billets from an accumulation of billets on a cooling bed, comprising a carriage mounted for reciprocation at the delivery end of said bed, said carriage comprising a beam extending crosswise of said bed, a series of alined billet-engaging pawls, spaced inwardly on said carriage at a fixed distancefrom said beam, a second beam on said carriage between said first beam and said line'of pawls,

and means for adjustably positioning said second beam with respect to said line of pawls, thereby to vary the number of billets picked ofi' by said pawls on the outward movement-of said carriage.

v 11. Mechanism for procuring successive discharges of billets from an accumulation of billets on a cooling bed, comprising a carriage reciprocable over the delivery end of said bed and carrying a series of alinedbillet-engaging pawls, a member on said carriage to limit the number of billets picked off by said pawls on the outward movement of said carriage, an electric motor on said carriage, operable by remote control to shiftsaid member thereby rendering selective the number of billets picked off at each operation,

adapted to engage the farthest-advanced billet on said bed, to limit the number of billets picked off by said line of pawls.

13. Apparatus for the selective handling of metal bars orbillets, in the discharge of same from a cooling bed or other storage means, comprising a series of alined billettween the stored billets and the discharge end of said bed, a straight-edge member reciprocating with said line of pawls and adapted to engage the farthest-advanced billet on said bed, to limit the number of billets picked ofi by said line of pawls and a pair of rope drives for procuring the reciprocations of said line of pawls. I i 14. In apparatus of the class described, a set of alined reciprocatory billet-engaging pawls for the discharge of billets from a cooling bed, in combination with a jointly-reciprocated straight-edge memberat a predetermined adjusted distance from said line of pawls, and adapted to engage the farthesta'dvanced billet'on said bed, thereby to limit the number of billets that the line of pawls can pick off at each reciprocation thereof.

Dated this 25th day of September, 1928.

ERIC H. F OBS. 

